Coin control release mechanism



Nov. 22, 1960 L R ETAL 2,961,081

COIN CONTROL RELEASE MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 10, 1955 United States Patent COIN CONTROL RELEASE MECHANISM Wayne E. Sloyer, Oakland, Calif. (1990 Arcane Ave., Reno, Nev. and Arthur W. Sloyer, Jr., San Francisco, Calif. (1814 2d St., Alameda, Calif.)

Filed Nov. 10, 1955, Ser. No. 546,192

2 Claims. (Cl. 194-2) This invention relates generally to apparatus for dispensing selected objects, such as bottles of soft drinks or the like, and is more specifically directed towards a coin control release mechanism which will permit removal of a bottle upon the consumer placing the proper coin in the mechanism.

In most dispensers for bottles or the like, there is provided some coin controlled apparatus so that until a proper coin is placed therein, it is impossible for the purchaser to remove the bottle. Heretofore, such apparatus possessed a variety of forms. For example, in some dispensing apparatus the mechanism is entirely automatic, and by merely placing a coin in the coin chute, a bottle is either delivered or made available for removal without further action by the consumer. The primary disadvantage of such an arrangement is the extremely high cost. In other types of installations there is provided a coin chute in which the coin is manually moved with a slide member so as to permit removal of a bottle. In this type of arrangement, the purchaser is first required to actuate the coin mechanism, and then return to the portion of the apparatus in which the bottles are disposed for removal of a single bottle. This is not a particularly desirable arrangement from the consumers viewpoint as several separate and generally unrelated operations are required on the part of the purchaser.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a dispensing apparatus in which a novel form of delivery or release mechanism is provided.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bottle dispenser in which the bottles are normally not removable from the housing, but which may be readily manually removable by the mere act of the purchaser in placing a coin in a coin release mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dispensing apparatus of the character described including lCC dispensing apparatus equipped with the coin control and release mechanism of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional elevational view taken substantially in the plane indicated by line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken substantially in the plane indicated by line 3--3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken substantially in the plane indicated by line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 2 but illustrating a slightly modified form of dispensing apparatus and control mechanism.

For purpose of illustration, the coin control release mechanism of the instant invention has been shown in operative relationship on a soft drink dispensing machine of the type wherein a bottle may not be removed from the housing until a bottle carrier is permitted to rotate to a delivery position, the carrier in turn being controlled by the deposit of a suitable coin. By way of example, such a dispenser is shown in copending application, Serial No. 375,719, filed August 21, 1953, now Patent No. 2,831,604.

In general, such a dispenser includes an insulated housing,.indicated by the numeral 12, and having side walls 13, a bottom, and an open top 14 which may, if desired, have a hinged closure member (not shown) for selectively enclosing the chamber 16 defined by the side walls and bottom. Positioned within the chamber 16 is a plurality of longitudinally extending parallel plates 17 disposed in spaced coplanar relationship adjacent the up per end of the housing so as to define therebetween a plurality of guideways or passageways 18. As best illustrated'in Figure 1, these passageways extend from ad a coin control mechanism which is movable with the bot- Yet another object of the present invention is to provide apparatus as hereinabove defined which is extremely simple and economical in construction and operation and which will efiectively preclude removal of an object in the dispenser until a coin is properly deposited.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the specification. to be understood, however, that variations in the showing made by the said drawings and description may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to said drawings:

' Figure 1 is a top plan view of a portion of a bottle jacent one end of the housing to a position spaced from the other end 15 thereof. The guideways have a width greater than the top or neck portion 21 of a bottle 22 and less than the minimum cross sectional dimension of the main portion of the bottles sothatv the bottles are thereby retained from the direct removal from the housing and at the same time are free to slide upon the bottom of the housing longitudinally of the guideways.

The parallel guideways 18 defined by the members 17 each communicate with a slot 23, preferably of approximately the same width as the guideways and extending transversely across the housing 12. A vertical transverse partition wall 24 extends along and downwardly from the transverse slot 23 adjacent one side thereof, and a horizontal top wall 26 is secured to side wall 24 at the top thereof and extends therefrom away from the transverse slot 23 to housing end 15. Removal of bottles fromthe housing for dispensing is accomplished through an open ing 27 provided in side wall 24 and having a width-at least equal to the maximum bottle width so that the bottles readily pass therethrough. The top wall is also provided with an aperture therein including a slot 28 extending away from side wall 24 and then at right angles and parallel to the side wall to an enlarged discharge aperture 31, which is larger than the maximum cross sectional size of the bottle so that the bottles may be readily withdrawn therefrom. Thus, the bottles are movable longitudinally of the guideways 18, into the transverse slot 23, and then through the side wall opening 27, the bottle then being movable through the top wall slot into and through the discharge aperture 31. In operation, the consumer selects his bottle from the desired passageway 18 and moves the same in accordance with the above description, and manually removes the same through the discharge aperture.

Obviously, if the dispensenincluded no further mechanism, no coin or other control mechanisms would" be required to permit the manual movement of a bottle from the guideways 18 through the discharge aperture. However, in-a'ccordancewith rriosf hetjtle'd'isp'ensersof this n'aff ture, there is provided an'i'eehanis'm'forpreventing bo'ttle removal until 'a coin' is'depo'sited. As'a typical exampleof such a mechanism theremaybe provided'a housing36' which includes the top wall 26 and the side wall 24, or a counterpart thereof, together with an end wall 38' and another side" wall 41 defining a'rectangular chamber 42. Within the chamber 42 there is a bottle carrier 43 having a bottom supporting platform"44 and snitableside'walls to define a-bottlereceptacle'into'which' individual bottles" 22 are adapted to slide through the side wall opening 27. A shaft 46' is mounted within the dispensing chamber between the sidewalls'2 4 and' 41 thereof perpendicularly to the same and directly below the opening 27 inthe's'ide' wall 24. am morefianges 48 depend from the carrier platform and-the shaft" extends therethrough' in rotatable relation theretoso'thatthe carrier is pivotable'about the shaft. The carrier includes a' front wall 47 extending upward from the platform edge nearest the discharge aperture in the top wall and is at least open at the top andon the side adjacent the side wall 24, and if des red the other carrier walls may be utilized or not. In vertical or normal position as shown in Figure 1 andin solid lines in Figure 2 of the drawings. the carrier is disposed incommunication with the interior of the housing 12 through the'op'e'ning in the side wall so that a bottle may be readily slid onto the carrier platform from the housing; A hottlepositioned on the platform of the carrier as shown in Figures 2 and 3, extends through the slot 28 in the topwall but is not removab e therethrough because of the small slot width, and is likewise not removable through the discharge aperture in the topwall because the carrier front'wall intervenes. However, if the carrier is pem'fi ten to rotate or'piv'ot about the shaft axis 46 m the inclinedposition shown in dash-dot or" dotted lines in Figure 2, the bottle 22 will be aligned with the top wall discharge aperture 31 so that it maybe readily manually withdrawn from the carrier through this aperture. In installations' previously-utilizing this general type of bottle dispensing arrangement, the carrier was not free to move until a' coin mechanism was actuated; However, this required'the'cu'stom'e'r' to manually move the coin mechanism, or rely upon a costly automatic coin mechanism; and in accordance with the present invention, we desire to control movement of the carrier by the mere insertion of a coinso' that the consumer need only deposit a coin in the specified place and then move the bottle into" the carrier and by pivoting the bottle towards the discharge aperture, likewise move the carrier so as to permit the bottle to register with the aperture 31 for discharge.

In accordance with the present invention means' are provided interconnecting an inexpensive coin-receiving mechanism 51 with the carrier to accomplish the foregoing results. The coin mechanism is preferably of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent Nos. l,908;380, 1,908,752, 1,941,638, 1,992,642, 2,026,921, 2,045,597 and 2,053,503 and includes a stationary horizontally extending portion 52 and a coin chute or slide 53 which is adapted for longitudinal movement relative to portion 52. As is customary with this type of coin mechanism', the chute 53 is provided with an aperture 54 in which the coin is placed, and normally, upon placement of a coin in the aperture, the chute may be manually moved to its full limit of travel. Therefore, in the average installation, there will be a manually engageable portion at the free end of the chute or slide. However, in view of the fact that in the present arrangement the consumer is only required to place the coin in the aperture 54, it is not necessary to provide such manually engageable portion; Preferably, the .coin mechanism 51 is placed adjacent one end of the apparatus with a suitable portion of the housing being cut away so as to expose the end portion of theslidc-in-whieh -the coin is-deposited a transverse flange 56 being utilized to secure the coin mechanism onto the housing; with the other portions of the mechanism being preferably within the housing and on the side of the carrier 43 opposite to the transverse passageway 23. The distal end 57 of the coin chute or slide is naturally capable of longitudinal movement with the slide and unless ar'coin' of the propersizeiswithin the aperture 54, the amount of such longitudinal movement is limited by certain stop members as is conventional with this type of mechanism. However, upon insertion of the proper coin, the latter permits additional movement of the slide and consequently the" end 57 of the slide member may be correspondingly moved to the left as shown in Figure 1. It is this movement which is relied upon to permit similar pivotal movement of the carrier for release and discharge of the bottles. As will be seen, secured to the end 57 ofthe coin slide by screws 58 or the like is a member 59 which-will likewise-move inaccordance with the slide travel. from member 59, in'a manner to be hereinafter described, is a link 61,.andthis-link is in turn attached by a pin 63 to a side wall 62 of the carrier adjacent the top of the latter. Thus, movement of the carrier'will be'imparted to the slide 53, and if slide 53 is permitted to move longitudinally the carrier will be permitted to rotate to effect release of the bottle. However, if no coin is droppedin the slide the limited amount ofslide movement will not permit rocking of the carrier to a position to permit bottlewithdrawa'l through aperture 31.

The carrier is guided in its pivotal movement so as to efiect smooth movement of link 61 by providing an arcuate track" 67 in side wall 41-. Pin 63'extends into and through the track and is arranged to move therealong upon rocking movement of the carrier. The side wall 41, through which the pin 63 extends, is in parallel spaced re ationship to the main sidewall 24 and precludes possibility of access to the coin mechanism and/or the coins deposited therefrom.

Member 59 which is secured to the coin slide 53 is provided with a vertical voked extension 64 adapted to slidablv receive a stud pin 71 which extends at right angles to an end of link 61. Pin 71 is normally disposed on the under surface of' a fixed gu de bar 72 which depends from top wall 26. and is therefore maintained during mov ment of the chute to movement along, a horizontal pa h immedi tel subj c'ent the guide ba'r. Adjacent the nd of travel of the chute the carrier wil have moved from the solid line position shown in Figure 2 of the drawing to the dot-dash position. and for the" average size bott e wi l be sufficient to permit withdrawal thereof from the disch rge ape ture. The cvlindrical pin 71 at. this time will be adjacent'the end of the guide bar 72. However, for larger size bottles it may be necessarv to per.-

'mit a slight overtravel of the'carrier. and accordingly. the

end 73- of the guide bar tapers sharply upwardly so as to permit further rocking of the carrier to the dotted line position without additional forward movement of the coin slide. the pin 71 naturally being retained in the yoke member 64. but moving towards the upper portion there of. It is important to note that the axis of slot 75, defined'by the yoke member 64. lies on an axis disposed at an angle toa position normal to movement of the coin slide. As here illustrated, this angle is in the neighborhood of 30 degrees. If the member and its slot extended vertically, no difficulty would be encountered in relying on the member 64 to transmit movement between pin 71 and member 59. However, it would beimpossible to effect the desired overtravel of the carrier to the dotted line position. Accordingly, the angular arrangement will still permit normal slide movement without binding and likewise accommodate further carrier pivoting after the slide has reached its limit of travel.

To insure movement of. the coin slide to its normal Extending rearwardly' position illustrated in Figure 1, a tension spring 81 is utilized, one end of the spring being secured to a fixed portion 82 of the coin mechanism and the other end 83 being secured to the slide itself. Thus, as soon as the bottle has been removed through the discharge aperture and no further pressure applied to the carrier, the spring will cause the carrier and the slide to move to the right as shown in the drawings and in position to receive another coin. Obviously, although not part of the present invention, a suitable gate or the like is provided to prevent insertion of a second bottle in the carrier after the first one has been withdrawn and while the carrier is still in its tilted position.

From the foregoing description the mode of operation of the apparatus in dispensing the bottles 22 should be immediately apparent. First, the consumer, through the open top of the housing slides a bottle along one of the passageways 18, into the transverse passageway 23 and thence into the vertical carrier 43. A coin may then be placed in the coin slide aperture 54 and the top of the bottle grasped and moved towards the discharge aperture. The carrier, being freely pivotable, will rock in a counterclockwise direction (as shown in Figure 2) moving the coin slide to the left through the interconnection of link 61, until the bottle is in a position to be withdrawn through the discharge aperture. Upon Withdrawal thereof the spring 81 will return the coin slide as well as the carrier to their normal position and in condition for repeated actuation by insertion of additional coins. Obviously, if no coin is placed in the slide aperture maximum movement of the slide is prevented, and the carrier will not be free to rotate to its discharge position and no bottle may be removed.

In Figure 5 a slightly modified form of arrangement is disclosed wherein the carrier 102 is pivoted adjacent an upper corner thereof as indicated at 103. In this instance the coin mechanism 51 is provided with a horizontal extension 53 which forms a rack gear. A segment gear 55 is provided on the carrier and in engagement with the teeth of the rack. Thus, the same effect is obtained in that the carrier 102 is not free to pivot from its normal dotted line position to the dot-dash bottle dispensing position unless the rack is freely movable, and obviously it will not be so movable unless a coin is inserted in the coin slide of mechanism 51. It will also be understood that the same general type of interconnection of the coin receiver to the dispensing apparatus can be applied, for example, to movable closures to permit article withdrawal.

What is claimed is:

1. In a dispenser having a bottle carrier having an open top portion, a wall overlying said carrier and having an aperture therein through which said bottle may be removed, means pivotally mounting said carrier for movement from a first position misaligned with said aperture to a second position aligned therewith for a bottle removal, and a coin mechanism including a coin slide adapted to receive a coin and movable longitudinally and horizontally upon such coin receipt; the combination comprising a link pivotally attached at one end thereof to said carrier, an upwardly extending yoke element having an elongated slot secured to said slide for movement therewith, a pin at the other end of said link and slidably engageable with the slot in said yoke element, and horizontally extending guide means urging said pin towards one end of its travel in said yoke element slot upon slide movement and permitting pin movement towards the other end of said yoke element slot at substantially the maximum movement of said slide whereby said carrier may continue to be pivoted without corresponding movement of said slide.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said yoke element extends at an angle from a vertical plane and forwardly in a direction of slide movement to efiect bottle release and said guide means has an end portion sloping upwardly at substantially the same angle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 804,013 Klein Nov. 7, 1905 1,882,841 Hathaway Oct. 18, 1932 2,104,034 Hamel Jan. 4, 1938 2,332,214 Forsthoefel Oct. 19, 1943 2,336,382 Albrecht Dec. 7, 1943 2,514,815 Warner July 11, 1950 2,637,612 Warner May 5, 1953 2,753,078 Terhune July 3, 1956 2,765,103 Foushee Oct. 2, 1956 2,831,604 Sloyer Apr. 22, 1958 

